CitySurf proposes a wave pool for Vancouver's downtown

September 8, 2016 |Surfing

The city of Vancouver is studying the possibility of building a surf pool in its downtown area.

CitySurf aims to become Canada's first artificial wave park. The plan for a man-made wave facility in the heart of Vancouver includes an innovative, chemical-free water filtration system that promises to address the local water pollution issues.

The promoters want to install the surf pool northeast of False Creek, and north of The Telus World of Science. The new equipment will feature an urban beach, an interpretive center, social amenities, and entertainment spaces.

"Vancouver is an ocean city with an active outdoor water-oriented lifestyle, but due to geography, it lacks open ocean surf. We're proposing to create a world-class city amenity, in an underutilized waterway, while tackling a recognized environmental issue in a city that promotes itself as one of the greenest on the planet," notes Philip Davis, architect, and CEO at Reviver.

The CitySurf wave pool is an opportunity to create a new swimming zone in waters that are currently unsafe for swimming. The innovative project has received the support from the Canadian Surfing Association, and more than 80 percent of the Vancouverites support the idea.

The team behind CitySurf is still studying the best artificial wave-generation technology for the Vancouver surf pool. If the public authorities approve the surf complex, the wave park will be open by 2019, a few months before surfing's debut in the Olympic Games.